I’ve been thinking about subscribing to the Better Me app but I’ve seen really mixed reviews online about the workouts, meal plans, and billing. Some people say it helped them lose weight and build better habits, while others mention bugs and unexpected charges. I’d really appreciate honest feedback from anyone who has used it—was it worth the money, and did you actually see results over time?
Used it for 4 months last year. Short version on BetterMe from my side:
- Workouts
- Mostly bodyweight, simple moves.
- Good if you are a beginner or getting back into movement.
- If you already lift or follow structured programs, it feels too basic after 2 to 3 weeks.
- Videos are clear, timers work fine, but repetition gets old.
- Meal plans
- Very generic. Feels like a slightly personalized low calorie meal plan.
- Portion sizes were off for me. I felt hungry a lot on the default plan.
- If you track with MyFitnessPal or Cronometer, you will get the same or better control.
- Good part, it nudged me to eat more veg and protein, so habits improved a bit.
- Habit and mindset stuff
- Daily tasks, steps, water reminders, “mental health” prompts.
- Helped me build routine for 2 months, then I stopped reading the prompts.
- If you like checklists, you will like this part. If you ignore notifications, you will forget it exists.
- Results
- I lost about 7 lbs in 2 months. Most from eating less and walking more.
- After I left the app and kept the same habits, weight kept going down.
- So the app helped start habits, but it was not magic.
- Billing and refunds
- This is the ugly part.
- Auto renew is aggressive. They hide the renewal date in small text.
- You need to cancel inside your App Store or Google Play, not only inside BetterMe.
- I forgot to cancel on time, got charged for another 3 months, support first said “no refunds”, I pushed twice and got a partial refund.
- If you subscribe, set a calendar reminder on day one.
- Who it suits
Good for you if:
- You are new to fitness.
- You want structure without thinking too much.
- You like app reminders and guided follow along workouts.
Not so great if:
- You already track macros.
- You lift weights or follow YouTube programs.
- You hate subscriptions and fine print.
If you want to test without risk:
- Do their shortest plan, like 1 month, through App Store or Google Play.
- Turn off auto renew right after purchase.
- Follow the workouts and meals for 3 to 4 weeks.
- If you see progress and like the style, then consider longer.
My honest take, it worked as a starter tool, but after a few months, I got more value from a free step tracker, YouTube workouts, and a simple calorie tracking app.
Used BetterMe for ~6 weeks this year, so here’s my take to add to what @nachtschatten already shared.
Workouts:
I agree they’re beginner friendly, but I’ll push back a bit on “too basic after 2–3 weeks.” If you’re coming from couch life, repeating the same simple circuits actually helped me stick with it. I didn’t have to think or learn new stuff every day. If you’re already used to lifting or YouTube programs though, you’ll be bored quickly.
Meal plans:
This part annoyed me the most. “Personalized” felt like a quiz that spits out a generic low calorie plan. I also found the recipes kinda unrealistic for busy weekdays and the food library was limited. I stopped using their meals and just kept the calorie range while eating my own food. So for nutrition, it gave me a target, not really a useful plan.
Habits & mindset:
The checklists and streaks helped, ngl. I actually liked the daily “tiny tasks” and step targets. Where I disagree a bit with @nachtschatten is the prompts: some of them felt like filler content or copy-paste “journal about gratitude” stuff. Helpful if you’ve never done this type of thing, but shallow if you’ve already read any basic habit books.
Results:
Lost about 5 lbs in those 6 weeks, then another 3 after I quit using the app but kept tracking food on a different app. So yeah, the weight loss was from consistent walking and eating less, not from some secret BetterMe magic. The value for me was structure when my motivation was garbage.
Billing:
This really is the sketchy part. The pricing screens are confusing, and the “limited time offer” pop ups feel a bit manipulative. I didn’t get trapped in auto renew because I always kill subscriptions on day 1, but I can easily see people getting hit with surprise charges. You have to cancel via App Store / Google Play or it keeps rolling. No mercy.
Who it’s actually good for:
- Total beginners who want someone to tell them “do this today” without thinking
- People who get motivated by streaks, reminders, and seeing boxes checked
- Folks who are okay with paying for a kickstart, not a long term solution
Who should skip:
- Anyone already comfortable with fitness/nutrition basics
- People who hate subscriptions or don’t read fine print
- Anyone expecting deep, tailored coaching
If you try it: pick the shortest sub, cancel auto renew immediately, then use the hell out of it for a month. If by week 3 you’re still opening the app daily and feel less overwhelmed around food & workouts, it might be worth another cycle. If not, you’re better off with free YouTube workouts + a basic calorie tracker.
Try a no-app 30-day reset. Pick three repeat meals using the plate rule: half vegetables, one quarter protein, one quarter carbs. Set fixed meal times and prep food twice weekly. Add two 15-minute strength sessions with a printed routine. Weigh once each week, same morning, and record sleep, waist size, and energy on paper. This gives you structure without billing stress or endless content. If results stall for three weeks, adjust one portion. Simple, cheap, and alot easier to maintain.
Where you buy it changes everything, and nobody’s said that yet. If you subscribe through the BetterMe website with a card instead of through the App Store or Google Play, canceling is a lot messier. The store subscriptions you can kill in two taps. Web subs go through their own support and payment processor, and that’s exactly where the ‘surprise renewal’ horror stories tend to come from. So before you even pick a plan, buy it through your phone’s store, not the checkout page they push you to.
I mostly agree with @nachtschatten and @chasseurdetoiles that it’s a decent kickstart and a bad long-term deal. Where I’d push back a little is the framing that the meal plan is just ‘generic but harmless.’ For some people the calorie targets it hands out are low enough to feel like a crash diet, and it doesn’t really flag that. If you’re already lean or fairly active, double-check the daily number it gives you before you follow it. A target that leaves you starving isn’t personalization, it’s just a small number.
The thing people forget is the funnel itself. That quiz at the start is built to sell, not to assess you. It’ll show you a dramatic ‘your plan’ screen with a countdown timer and a discounted price, and the whole point is to get you to commit before you think. Screenshot the price and the renewal terms before you tap pay. If you can’t clearly see when it renews and for how much, that’s your answer.
My honest take: treat it as a one-month experiment at most. Buy through the store, turn off auto renew the same minute you subscribe, ignore the food targets if they feel punishing, and just use the guided workouts and the streak stuff for structure. If you’re the type who won’t open an app after week two, skip it entirely and do what @socket.ml said, because a printed routine and a weekly weigh-in costs nothing and doesn’t email you about limited time offers.